We rented an AquaDoula from our asst. midwife. But, I never made it downstairs and had a waterbirth in our bathtub. Things went too fast. I'll rent it again this time and hope I get to use it a little bit!

Alicia, wife to an loving and faithful DH, and mama to three fantastic though nutty children (cs, then an HBAC, then a VBAC!!).

I used a Birth Pool in a Box and it was awesome. Large, comfortable, and the bottom was really well cushioned for my knees. In previous labors I had used a regular bathtub (way too small), a fishy pool (ok, but more shallow than BPIAB), and a hospital tub (still not quite big enough, I was stuck on my back only). I love, love, love BPIAB or pools of similar size :)

Erika, mama to three beautiful kids (plus one gestating), and wife to one fantastic man.

I birthed in a whirlpool tub with dc#2 and the fishy pool with dc#3. They were both fine. The thing I liked about the tub was the jets. Something about the humming noise of that was soothing to me. With the fishy pool, the soft, cushioned bottom was heavenly. I felt like I was floating on a cloud. It looked small when I got it and I thought it would be too small but it was just right. And I'm actually glad it was small because I tend to push on my hands and knees involuntarily and with my dc#3, I pushed in 14 seconds so it was super fast and I couldn't process things fast enough to reach down to catch her. So thankfully, the tub was small enough that my midwife could reach the baby from the other side of the tub. Otherwise, she would have had to hop in!

My 3rd child was born in a BPIAB that I borrowed from my MW. I liked it but it was BIG and although I'm tall, I had a hard time getting in and out of it and I didn't know that the height could be adjusted until afterward :-/. My daughter was born in an inflatable birth pool too...the La Bassine maybe?? It was purple, that's all I remember.

My first I used an aqua doula, it was ok. My second I used a big black Rubbermaid horse trough and loved it. I preferred the oval shape to the round shape of the aqua doula, I could grasp both sides. I also preferred the rigidity of the sides, you can't really hold on to the sides of the aqua doula to haul yourself in and out. I put towels down under the liner, so it was plenty comfy.

mama toDS born 9/7/05, DD born 8/20/07, DS born 9/4/10 and DS born 11/26/13

I've labored in the fishy pool and birthed twice in the BPIAB. I *love* the BPIAB and am hoping mine holds up for one more birth this summer! (I've loaned it to friends and it's now had 7 babies born in it!) It's got enough room to move and enough depth to be comfy, plus the built-in seat is great for putting my hands on on all-fours, and handles are good to have available. New ones have cupholders!

I labored in a regular, hard jacuzzi tub, hated it, too hard and difficult to get comfortable. Next time I rented an AquaDoula. Also hated it, too big, too deep for me, I hated the rigid sides, and struggled to get comfortable. Next two babies were born in a fishy pool. Loved it! Soft, cushy bottom, supportive sides.

How do you fill/Drain these tubs? Do you need to buy special attachments for your sink to fill it and a pump and hose to drain it?

I had read that you can put the hose in the tub and throw the other end out the window and it sort of syphons it out. I planned to do that with my last homebirth, but couldn't figure out how to get the screen off of the window, lol! So I called a local friend/doula and borrowed her pump. It worked great!

With my first two they where c-sections. My third was a fishy pool and my 4th will be a Oasis Birth Pool. I dont have the money for those expensive ones plus the oasis is round, soft and cushy, free of any chemicals and only $65.00

My MW has a pump that drains the water. With my last birth, we just put the end of the hose out the door (we had a balcony adjacent to the bedroom, and a door to the balcony). This time, I am not sure where we will drain it.

I have been thinking about what tub to use too. I know my midwife has a few that she rents out, but I don't know what brand and won't until I see her late May. I also don't know how much she charges to rent them. The only thing I definitely know is I want a tub of some sort!

-Meagan

A Christian, crunchy, homeschooling southern wife to D and mama to A (5) who loves ( ,,, and )

I am looking to buy a used inflatable birth tub but haven't been able to find one on craigslist. I am due May 27th with our first baby and would love to have this as an option but just didn't want to pay full price for one. If you know of someone who'd like to sell theirs, I'm located in Austin, TX and you can reach me at [email protected] Thanks!

My first was born in the hospital and they didn't have tubs, just showers. This one is a planned homebirth and we rented an Aquaborn from a local doula. We did a test fill the other day and I spent half the day in it just relaxing. It was awesome. I cursed gravity after I got out. lol

In my practice, families have utilized a variety of tubs and pools. I offer LaBassine and the Aquarium" pool. The "aquarium" pool was the first and it remains the only inflatable I have offered due to over 20 years of waterbirths it's served absolutely great. To this day, despite all the birth pools and tubs to select from, I still like it as well (most importantly-mothers do also) as anything and a sight better than some choices of bathtubs, Aquadoula, giant jetted tubs, etc. that I have experience with. - haven

I used a LaBassine provided by my midwives. It was big, cushy and I liked it (used it only for pushing in as I had such a fast labor). My only thought was that it was maybe a bit too large, as I felt a little too floaty in it at times.

ETA: DH drained it through a window into our backyard. He used some sort of pump attached to a cordless drill? IDK for sure, I was pretty distracted by my amazing new son. ;)

Married to P and mama to DS (1/09)and DD (09/13). I'm into friends and family, gardening, exercise, yoga, reading, knitting, photos, traditional foods, breastfeeding, home birth, babywearing, and much more.

Would have used it the second time, but she was in a hurry. I spent some of what felt to me like early labor in our regular bathtub and ended up really injuring my sacrum and coccyx, because baby's head was much lower than I realized it was and the squeeze between her head and the hard bathtub left me with pretty bad bruising.

Expat mama to my 7-year-old Halloween boy and my cheeky preschooler, who came before the midwife in January 2010... Gestating a new bean, debuting spring 2014!

Sorry if this is off topic, but what is clean up like with different tubs? I've been considering using a pool, but the idea of skimming it and pumping out all the birth-y water afterwards is really unappealing. DH is super squeamish when it comes to blood, so I wouldn't want him to be in charge, and I don't want my midwife to have to deal with it either. Or is clean up easier than I imagine?

Hi all,
Also curious about clean up. I can't imagine that draining it out the window or into the yard is sanitary (at least not for me after my last birth)! Also, if it's cold out & would freeze, yuck! Can't one drain it into a bathtub or sink?